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Karnataka govt to form committee to improve research at agri varsities
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Saturday, 17 November, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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The Government of Karnataka will now set up a committee to focus on improving the overall quality of research at the agricultural universities in the state. It will look into the duplication of research work.
This was said by state agriculture minister Shivashankar Reddy at the inauguration of the three-day annual Krishi Mela which concludes at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) campus in Bengaluru on November 17, 2018.
The government will constitute the committee, that will comprise the former vice-chancellor and experts. They will act as a third-party agency to check the infrastructure, academic quality and research work in the agriculture universities.
Besides UAS Bengaluru, the state is home to six universities. Of these, three are UAS (Dharwad, Shivamogga and Raichur). The others are Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar; University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalakote, and College of Agriculture, Mandya.
The committee will evaluate these institutes managing administration, financial viability and their educational system. “It will be formed in the next couple of months and there will be visits to these institutions,” said Reddy.
Many of these universities have been hubs of research technology transfers. For instance, Varsha Agri Business Centre for Development, a Karnataka based start-up participating in the Krishi Mela, displayed the drones developed by the company to spray pesticides on agricultural land in a faster manner. The company claims that this is a first of a kind in India.
“The drone can spray pesticides over 8-9 acre of land in one hour. The drone was developed six months ago. It can fly to a height of over 70 feet,” said Sampath Kumar S, representative of Varsha Agri Business Centre for Development.
“We have seen that there will be no wastage of pesticides. It has a capacity to carry between five and 30 litre. The drone operates on a rechargeable battery with 12,000 mAH capacity,” he added.
The company stated that it was most suited for paddy, cotton, maize, and even vegetables. The fee for one acre is Rs 500 and the drone is priced at Rs 5 lakh.
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